Brenda Yap

I didn't realize I'd been away so long. Of course, there are explanations for this ::1. The modem at my mum's house is still wonky and it frustrates me so sometimes I can't be bothered to go online.2. TimeNet Broadband service was down for a few days.3. I've been swamped with work. So many late nights just working on VectorWorks. >.<4. The phone line at my dad's house was spoilt, and it was just fixed a few hours ago.

So now I'm on a one week break and I plan to catch up on some good, needed rest. Actually, I have to design a leaflet for my budget accommodation, and also work on my thesis; but that's nothing compared to what I've had to go through over the past few weeks. :D

I went to the city library this morning for a class and my classmates and I got ourselves registered. Quite a nice place. Books weren't as abundant as I imagined it to be, however. Deadlines are in 3 weeks. Which is great, compared to Cenfad's dumb arse library, which only allows you to take books home for 2 days at a time, and if you return it late, you are fined RM1 per day. It's such a hassle to have to constantly renew books. What nonsense.

On Thursday I had a critique session and got lousy grades for it. B-. Bleh. At least I received good reviews for my verbal presentation this time. I quote, "Verbal - GOOD!" Yesh! The last critique I had, I got lousy reviews for that, because I had a really bad tummyache and well, I rushed through the whole thing ala Gilmore Girls.. :P

I honestly can't be bothered to reply each and every message on the tagboard because the space is sooo tiny, so here goes ::

Auds :: Good luck with everything! Everyone's been so busy it's tough to keep in touch nowadays. :/Mars :: Message me on MSN next time you're online and I'll send you the pic. We all look so different from the way we did then. :)Fra :: I was just wondering what happened to you! Hehe. *hugss*Iris :: Hey.. Thanks for dropping by. How are you? Miss ya. I've been busy, but generally good. :)Sonia :: Yeah. I'm so fed up with all these problems. If it's not the broadband service provider, it's the modem. If it's not the modem, it's the phone line. Grrr. Good luck with your work too! I so know what you mean about holidays not being holidays. :/ Tough luck eh?

My internet is down, yet again. This time I'm not sure if there's a fault with my modem, or if it's my broadband service provider. My modem's on/off button is spoiled, there's something wrong with the spring or something. It's one of those where it switches on when you push it down, and when you push it again, it switches off. Anyway. For the last two weeks I've been holding the switch down with masking tape. Improvising, heh. Anyway, yea. I don't know if currently there's anything else wrong with it. It's rather frustrating.

And such bad timing, too. See, every week, I put off working on my thesis until Friday night [my class is Saturday morning], and well, I suppose that tonight, I won't get much work done. Shit. I guess tomorrow I'll just bring in the encyclopedia just to show Adela that I've been doing at least some form of research. Well. Maybe it's a good excuse. I'm currently stuck and have no idea what to do anyway. I have to contact and interview a few people regarding my thesis, but I really don't know what questions to ask them. Getting started is so hard.

I'm starting to stress out because I'm having trouble with quite a lot of my work currently. The mid semester break is approaching so most projects are due by next week. It's going to be hectic. I have 3 assignments due, and one of them involve a presentation. Haha. This reminds me. On Tuesday I had a critique session and I had a really bad stomachache, so I sped through my presentation. Talked really really fast and summarized and skipped a lot of points that I could've mentioned. Yesterday I received my report and the comment for my presentation was "could be improved". Fuck.

And hopefully, all by this weekend. Oh dear god. I want to cry. Well. I'm planning to do [1] on Saturday and [2] and [3] on Sunday. The axo can wait till Monday or something. It all sounds so easy, but it just takes forever. I take about 5 to 8 hours per model, and about an hour or so per drawing. Sounds crazy, right?

On a brighter note, at least my personal monologue is coming along well. Just some more editing and it should be done. My 3D modeling of a bedroom seems to be coming along too, so I'm feeling rather satisfied. I've always been really bad at 3D, and even know, I constantly need Wazir's opinion and advise. I know I'll also need his help to render it. I feel bad for bugging him all the time, but I really am slow when it comes to visualising things in 3D.

Sunday, 2310050046

The internet is still down. I wonder when it'll be fixed. I already phoned TimeNet yesterday and they said they'd call me back, but they haven't.

I tried to finish my model today, but since it's my final model, I took more effort in putting in the little details; like putting in transparency to indicate glass, cutting out pivoting doors instead of the usual swing ones, etc. It took forever. 5 hours and I haven't even finished the first floor. I planned to cut out the staircase step by step [literally], but I ditched that idea. I can't even begin to imagine how long that will take me. I wonder how Stacy does it. It's crazy ass.

I've also decided that I'm too lazy to draw 3 plans, 3 sections, and an axonometric drawing. So I'm going to just do it in 3D on the computer and voila, all done. Perspective drawings are also made easy. I never quite like using the computer for my drawings, the drawings always come out looking so cold, if you know what I mean.

It's been raining all morning and afternoon. It's been a really miserable day today, marking the passing of Datin Seri Endon Mahmood, wife of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato' Seri Abdullah Badawi. I was surprised to hear the news because I thought she was recovering.

I think she deserves respect for all the work she has done. When I heard the news, I immediately thought of the Kebaya Nyonya exhibition at the Petronas Gallery at KLCC last year.

So just now, I was looking through some pictures in this cd that I burned some time back, and I was really amazed at how much everyone has changed, including myself. Here's a quick and [rather] messy compilation of some of them.

Clockwise from top left :: Me [age 11? It looks funny because I cropped my cousins out of it.]; Brynna and I [about 3 years back]; Brynna; Me, Brynna and Mum [2005].Brynna's lost quite a bit of the chubbiness. Gosh. I look the same la.. Just a little older. :P And my hair's frizzy now. My mother still looks young. :)

The critique session today went well, and we're having a final crit this coming Monday. I guess all I have to do for now is refine my model, put in details, and finish up my drawings. I have a problem with drawing at a large scale; but as most of you know, I have miniscule handwriting and that applies to my drawings too. :P When I draw big, everything ends up looking blank, cartoonish, and well, lame. Will have to do something about that. :P

For my thesis class, Adela wants me to try to find my way to Penang to interview this lady over my Raya holidays. I know I should, but I'm so lazy. I'd be lazy if I had to interview someone in KL, whatmore Penang. Aish.

I've been super busy. Have a crit session tomorrow. And really, I haven't been doing much except stupid model making and plans, so it's not really something I want to go on and on about here.

Plus, I'm having connection problems, over here at mum's place. I'm connected to the internet, but I can't access a lot of websites. It's strange. So far I can only access hotmail, gmail, livejournal, and blogger. But I can't access my blog, lol. So, unless I want to check my email every 5 seconds or write a new blog entry every 5 minutes, the internet is rather useless. :/ Under normal circumstances I'd be extremely annoyed with this problem, but right now I can't be bothered because I'm still stressed out over my work. :P

Oh. My. God. I'm watching The Amazing Race :: Family Edition now and the family who arrived first at the stop just won free gasoline for life.. Shit! Imagine that. Filling your car with petrol for free. For life. Well, I'm not officially driving and all, but I know what it feels like because I pitch in for Wazir's gas fees.

I can't wait until my mother gets back from the US this Sunday. Nights have been so quiet here; my grandma and sis go to bed at 9.30pm, then I'm on my own until I go to bed. Not that I have a problem with it, just that I actually miss her nagging and bitching and us having late night snacks while watching tv. Plus I've had to go gymming alone, which I hate. Well. Sunday is coming. :) But she'll only be back for 5 days before she's off to India for a final business trip. >.< It's been a busy month for her I guess.

I've got to go work on my Personal Monologue. I still haven't decided on my final topic, but I need to hand in an outline tomorrow, so I'll just have to piece something together.

Have to make another model at 1:50 scale, and draw plans & sections by Thursday. There's another critique session on Monday. I hate making models, there's no denying that. I hate drawing sections too. And axonometrics. But I like plans. Gosh. Remind me again why I'm studying interior architecture?

I've had a pretty good weekend. Yesterday's presentation, which I prepared for Friday night, went pretty well, surprisingly. So, yeah, apparently I am on the right track for my thesis. Yay. Spent a lot of time with my sister this weekend, and today I saw Wazir for dinner. It's been productive.

Brynna took this. Haha I can see her finger at the corner of the pic. :/ That's the prob with the T7, most people have a tendency to rest their fingers at the edges of the camera and well, that's where the lens is.

We both look kinda off in here. :/

And these are some interior pictures of my latest model ::Top view of bedroom space. Looks shabby because I used recycled materials :: a mixture of cardboard, mounting board, and model board.

Interior view of the bedroom space.

Hallway.

There are no shots of other spaces because I haven't gotten around to modelling them in detail yet. I've just got it all drawn out on plan and some sketches. Damn stress la; I've been having so much work, and my mother is away and Brynna has exams so I've had to push her to study and tutor her as well. Am trying my best to be the good sister I'm supposed to be but I don't think I'm doing that good a job.

This is random, but I've decided I don't want a lomo camera anymore because bleh, I can do all that with Photoshop anyway. Why waste cash on a plastic camera and film and developing fees?

I think I'm off to bed. Feeling rather tired and I've got an early class tomorrow. >.< Night, all.

Today has felt like the longest day ever. Wazir picked me up for class real early,about 7am] so that we could avoid the Subang and KL traffic. So I got to Cenfad at like, 8am or so, when class only started at 9.30am. :/ I had a critique session and had to go first, which was surprisingly okay. Now I've got tons of work to do this weekend. :/ Have to rework my building layout and my model at a 1:50 scale. That's pretty big.

Anyway that class ended at about 1.45pm and Bernice's Creative Writing class started at 2pm. Didn't get much of a break. Plus, Bernice's class ran 45 minutes longer than expected, because we watched this movie, Garden State after the break. It was a rather slow-moving movie and well, I couldn't quite grasp the point of the movie, but then again, I prolly can't really comment because I fell asleep for half an hour. =P So yeah. I had class from 9.30am to 5.45pm. :/

I came home after class, ate dinner, and the next thing I knew, I was asleep. Woke up at 9.30pm. It's been ages since I've had a nap!

I have not been to the gym this week and I'm feeling guilty.

Anyhoo. I need to do research for my thesis. I've pretty much decided on the topic "Adaptive Reuse of Buildings in KL". It was that or "The Convergence of Design and Technology" but for that, I couldn't figure out what specific field of science I wanted to talk about. So, yeah. Now I have to go do some research on old buildings and stuff, both in KL and overseas, as examples. I have a presentation about this Saturday morning. >.< Wish me luck! [I haven't started any research yet.]

I've spent yesterday and today slaving over Anwar's work. Wow. I can't recall a time that I've been this dedicated to an assignment. I guess it's not that I have a choice, he keeps pushing the deadlines. I have a critique session tomorrow [err, today] morning that I just found out about on Monday. :/

I'm so tired. Gosh, I hope this isn't what this entire semester is going to be like.

Oh. Today I tried getting online and kept wondering why I couldn't connect to the internet. The laptop told me that I was connected to the wireless connection, so I figured that my broadband service was down. So I waited for like 5 hours or so.. And finally I got fed up. Then I discovered that my wireless router was switched on but my broadband modem wasn't. Shit.

Fasting for Ramadan starts tomorrow. I'll probably join in with Wazir for a few days or so.

I wanted to blog, but now I'm totally blank. Guess it can wait then. I've been pretty busy with college work lately, especially since it's my final year in Cenfad and all.

I'm so tired. Night!

postnote:: For some of you who don't know what this fasting thing is all about [like Knoizki ;)], I found some information online.

Muslims celebrate the festival of Aidilfitri - popularly known as Hari Raya Puasa, or simply Hari Raya (Day of Celebration) in Malaysia – to mark the culmination of Ramadhan, the holy month of fasting.

It is a joyous occasion for Muslims, as it signifies a personal triumph, a victory of self-restraint and abstinence, symbolising purification and renewal.

Fasting during the month of Ramadhan is compulsory or wajib, whereby Muslims are required to abstain from satisfying their most basic needs and urges, daily, between sunrise and sunset. It is one of the five tenets of Islam; as is the paying of zakat (alms tax for the poor), which must be tithed by the end of Ramadhan.

In Malaysia, the period of fasting ends when the new moon is sighted on the evening of the last day of Ramadhan. The actual sighting is conducted by state appointed religious officials at various vantage points (usually at hilltops) throughout the country.

If the crescent is sighted, the following day is then declared the first day of Aidilfitri, which is also the beginning of the 10th month of the Muslim calendar Syawal.

I've been so busy. Thursday's class with Anwar; he told us to think of our concept for the budget motel, do research, and get back to him on Monday. Saturday, the whole class attended this Design Conference at the KL Convention Centre, and we saw Anwar there. He gave us this sheet of paper with even more assignments due Monday :: sketches, conceptual model, layout plans, sections, writeup, research, etc. Dear God.

So I've been doing my homework [or trying to, at least] all weekend. Yay. *sarcasm* Of course I didn't finish everything; I'm not such a nerd. I hate being so busy and stressed.